


Save the Best for Last

by angelofthepie



Series: Hogwarts AU [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Destiel - Freeform, Hogwarts AU, Hospitalisation, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-04-28 06:43:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5081603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelofthepie/pseuds/angelofthepie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is the end of the school year when tragedy strikes at Hogwarts. Cas has been poisoned and Dean is determined to save him, using any means necessary to find an antidote. (This is the final installment of my Hogwarts AU, but can also be read as a standalone story)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was stuck on what to write for this last part, when I heard the song 'Save the Best for Last' by Vanessa Williams on the radio. It inspired the title of this (and the plot to some degree) and I recommend it if you like cheesy nineties music. This story is dedicated to readers of 'Dean Winchester and the Guardian Angel', thank you for all your comments and kudos. They mean a lot!

It was the height of summer in the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The exams were over, there was pie for dessert and Dean Winchester was feeling pretty good about life in general.

Opposite him at the Hufflepuff table, Ed and Harry were arguing about something or other. Those two always seemed to be fighting and Dean felt a familiar twinge of happiness at the silent, contented presence of his best friend, who was sitting on his right hand side. Cas wasn't wearing his robes for once and the sunlight shone down on his white shirt and tie. He was currently engaged in making a sandwich and Dean couldn't help smiling at his serious expression as he spread a thin layer of jelly onto a slice of bread.

It was almost the end of the lunch hour when Sam slid into an empty seat next to Cas and grabbed a plate from the pile.

"Hey Sammy," Dean said. His brother seemed paler than usual and he looked like he'd got ready in a rush that morning. "You need a haircut. Want me to bring over that Nair from a couple of years ago? I still have the bottle in my room." Sam just rolled his eyes and started eating. There was definitely something different about him today.

"Are you ready for the Potions test?" asked Cas, as he put down his sandwich. "We should go if we want to stop off to collect our books at the dorm room."

"Okay, just give me a second," Dean replied. He shoved another spoonful of pie into his mouth and closed his eyes in admiration. The pies at Hogwarts weren't quite as delicious as the ones his mother used to make, but they were still pretty damn good.

Meanwhile, Cas took a sip of his pumpkin juice and grimaced. "Ugh. Have you had any of this, Dean? It tastes odd today."

"Tastes fine to me," he replied, still preoccupied with the last few bites of apple pie.

"Then there's definitely something wrong with my cup." Cas said, beginning to cough violently. Dean patted him on the back, but stopped when he saw the blood on his friend's hand. The coughing became even more frenzied and the quiet conversations going on around their table slowly ceased.

"Sam, get a professor," Dean said, unable to stop the panic from sounding in his voice. "Hey Cas, it's okay. Help is on the way."

Cas turned to him, gripping his wrist tightly. "I can't breathe, Dean. Please-" Then his breath caught in his throat and he collapsed, Dean barely catching him. A moment later, Sam was back with Professor Singer and a crowd gathered around the table.  
.  
"We have to get him to the infirmary," said Dean, barely conscious of anyone else in the room. It had all happened so fast: just a few minutes ago they had all been eating together and now... Castiel's eyes were closed, his breathing erratic. "Come on, buddy, stay with me."

As Dean handed his friend over to the professors, refusing to leave his side and answering every question about Cas's health, Sam stood, frozen, by the Hufflepuff table. It was all his fault. He'd been following instructions, but that didn't change anything, in Dean's eyes, he would be guilty. There was no way to come back from this and he didn't deserve to anyway. Praying that Castiel would be okay, and that it was all just a mistake, he made his way to the infirmary.

 

*****

 

Cas felt horrible. He could barely move and his eyes refused to open. He fought away any thoughts of panic, instead choosing to focus on the sensation of someone holding his hand. It was reassuring to know that he wasn't alone, even if he couldn't see anything.

"You can't stay here, Dean. I'm sorry."

He recognized the voice of the school nurse. Was he in the hospital wing? He thought back to that morning. Everything had been normal until this strange illness had come on so suddenly, it was almost as if he had been cursed. But who would want to hurt him?

"I'm not leaving," Dean said firmly. His voice was comforting and the feeling of their hands clasped together, even more so.

"Go back to your dormitory." The nurse sounded firmer now and Cas tried to tighten his hold on Dean's hand, to let her know that he was conscious and he wanted, needed, him to stay. It was no good. He stopped trying to move and waited impatiently for an answer.

"Do you remember my first day here, when Alistair nearly killed me on the Hogwarts Express?" He was talking to the nurse, but his words fired Castiel's memory. He remembered finding Dean on the train, casting the only spell he knew to save him, then watching him sleep from the next bed along. "Cas saved me that day and even when I was unconscious in the hospital wing, he never left my side. I'm not leaving him here."

There was a long period of silence, but finally the sound of footsteps echoed across the room and he knew that they were alone. He would have breathed a sigh of relief if he'd been capable of controlling his body.

"It's going to be okay, Cas." Dean said. "They'll find out what's wrong with you and things will be back to normal in no time." He felt himself drifting off to sleep once again, reassured by the warmth of Dean's hand.

When he woke up, he was alone. The bed underneath him was cold and even from behind his closed eyelids, he could see that the room was lighter. It must be the next morning, he thought to himself. He had been in the hospital wing for almost a day. The space around him echoed with silence and it was clear that he had no visitors, there didn't even seem to be any nurses around.

He waited, he wasn't sure how long for. Someone came in, checked his vitals, then left and he was alone again. He was used to being alone. Although the Miltons were a big family, they all tended to go off and do their own thing in the summer and for him, that usually meant days holed up in his room with books and some parchment for writing letters to Dean and Sam. The Winchesters weren't very punctual with their replies, but he knew that that was only because John insisted on driving around the country on cases throughout the long vacation and not because they didn't care about him.

Cas breathed in deeply though his nose and tried to move. Still nothing. Then, he heard footsteps and relaxed as he heard Dean sit down on the chair by the side of his bed. His best friend sighed; he sounded exhausted and he felt a renewed urge to at least show some signs of life.

"It's hot in here, I'll open a window." That was Sam's voice, but it sounded deeper than usual, like he had been crying.

"Don't try to change the subject." Dean replied in a louder voice than usual. He hardly ever snapped at his brother and Cas hoped that he wasn't the cause of any rift between them.

There was a pause where Sam seemed to be wiping his eyes. "What do you want me to say? I've told them everything I know and Crowley's working on an antidote now. There's nothing we can do."

"You haven't told them everything," said Dean, more weary than angry now. "Who gave you that potion? I don't believe that you would just slip something into Cas's drink like that, it doesn't add up. So who made you do it?"

"Dean, please," Sam said quietly. "I told you, this is my fault and mine alone. There's nothing you can do, just wait for Crowley to make an antidote."

"I'm not going to trust his life to Professor Crowley." There was a loud bang and Cas deduced that Dean had slammed his hands down on the arms of the chair. "I know that you're protecting someone and I'm going to find out who that is. Have you thought about what you've done?"

Cas heard Dean standing up and moving around the bed to stand next to Sam. He felt like this was all a bad dream and if he could just open his eyes, he would be back in the Great Hall getting ready to eat his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Look at him," Dean said, his voice low and despondent. "He hasn't said a word since yesterday, he's barely breathing, he hasn't even moved, not once. What if he gets worse, what if-"

"Don't you think I know that?" Sam said, in an equally low voice. "If there was any way to reverse this, I would, in a heartbeat. I've been suspended from classes, I'll probably be expelled, and Cas...” His voice broke a little.

Dean was moving again and he was soon back in the chair at Castiel's side. He felt the warmth of Dean's hand again, but his mind was too full of questions for it to be any real comfort. "Just know this, Sammy. I will find whoever it is that you're protecting and I will make them undo what they've done to him."

Sam's footsteps continued towards the door, but stopped suddenly there. "Look, Dean, I don't expect you to forgive me, but please believe me when I say that I didn't mean to hurt him. He's my friend too, even if I'm not- You know, forget it. You can figure that out for yourself." Dean swore under his breath but made no move to follow his brother. 

Sam's footsteps continued down the hallway until the room was silent once again. Cas felt the silence keenly. It seemed that he had been poisoned by an unknown potion and no antidote could be found. Apparently Sam was the cause of all this, but acting on behalf of someone else. It was too much to take in.

"Hey Cas." Dean sounded completely exhausted and he suddenly felt even more determined to give some kind of sign to prove that he was still alive and well. He channeled all of his energy into moving his left hand, the one that Dean was holding. 

It took a huge amount of effort, but eventually he lifted it up for just long enough to show that he was conscious. He heard Dean's breath catch in his throat and felt the bed sink slightly as his friend leaned over him. "Cas? I knew it, I knew you could hear me. Thank God. Listen, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you wake up. I promise."

He tried to squeeze Dean's hand to show that he understood, but all his energy seemed to have been used up and he found himself paralyzed once again. There was a short pause, Dean must have been waiting for some other sign, but then he settled down on the bed next to Cas. "It's all going to be okay." he murmured into Cas's shoulder.

He wouldn't have believed that in normal circumstances, but this was Dean Winchester and he there was no-one he would rather trust to get to the bottom of whatever had happened to him. So he relaxed, concentrated on his breathing and fell asleep in Dean's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam was sitting in the Ravenclaw common room. He had decided to write an essay to take his mind off what was happening in the hospital wing, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get past the first three words. He was painfully aware of the atmosphere in the room: everyone was ignoring him and he knew that wherever he went in the school, the students would be pointing and whispering amongst themselves.

He had tried to explain himself to his professors, but even those who believed that he hadn't intended to do any harm were unable to look past the simple fact that he had slipped a vial of poison into Castiel's pumpkin juice. It was a miracle that he was still being allowed to continue with lessons, but he attributed that to the school's inability to contact his father, who never stayed in the same place for longer than a few days while they were at Hogwarts. As soon as John could be located, he would surely be expelled.

The sound of somebody entering the common room startled him and he looked up from his essay to see Dean standing in the doorway. At first, he thought it was a mistake: his brother had been avoiding him since their fight in the hospital wing, but Dean walked over to him immediately.

"What are you doing here?" asked Sam warily. After all that had happened, he just wanted to be left alone.

"Relax, I'm not here to torture you." Dean replied, looking very much like that was what he had come for. "Or to forgive you, no matter how much you turn those puppy dog eyes on me." Before Sam could protest, he continued. "I need something from you. You know the ingredients of that potion, right? You gave a list to Crowley?"

"Yes, but you won't be able to do any more than Crowley can, he's an expert potion-maker and you barely passed your OWL."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of no confidence Sammy," Dean grinned, before remembering that he was still angry at his brother. His face fell immediately. "Just write me the list. I'm going to find an antidote to that potion if it kills me."

Sam nodded and picked up his quill, scribbling down everything that he had been told to put into the cauldron. There were a wide variety of ingredients, many of them used for love potions as well as a few plants used in sleeping potions of all kinds. Perhaps that was why there was a long delay in Crowley's search for an antidote: the original potion was a mish-mash of so many different elements that it was hard to pin down exactly what had reacted with what to cause a catatonic state in the victim.

When he finally reached the end of the list, Dean snatched the parchment away and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Sam. He wasn't expecting an answer, but it still hurt when silence was all he received, that and the loud bang reverberating across the room as the door slammed shut. He sighed and returned to his charms essay. Only four thousand, nine hundred and ninety seven words to go. 

 

*****

 

Dean left the Ravenclaw common room and walked purposefully down the stairs that connected the tower to the rest of the school. He didn't often go that way, Sam preferred to visit him in the Hufflepuff common room whenever possible, and he was struck by how quiet it was. The Hufflepuffs were lucky to be situated by the kitchens and Dean much preferred the hot, noisy basement to the strange, silent atmosphere of the Ravenclaw tower.

As his footsteps echoed on the stone steps, he idly wondered if the reason that the Ravenclaws lived in a tower was that they needed silence for their studies and research. Then he wondered if Sam liked living in such a quiet place with such serious people. He probably did, the little nerd.

Aware that all of these thoughts were his mind's way of distracting him from worrying about Cas, he let his mind drift as he made his way to the other side of Hogwarts and eventually ended up on a bland stretch of corridor on the seventh floor. There were no signs to tell him that he was in the right place, except a small tapestry on the opposite wall and he took a deep breath before pacing the corridor three times, letting his anxiety about his best friend fill his head and picturing the entrance to the room of requirement.

He stopped in the exact spot where he'd started and peered anxiously at the wall. Nothing. Then, just when he was about to give up, a door slid open. Dean stepped cautiously inside and gazed at the massive room in which he found himself. There were random artifacts everywhere, but he needed only one thing, an old vanishing cabinet.

The cabinet was supposed to have been destroyed years ago, but he had it on good authority that Michael had hidden it instead, unwilling to let go of his only chance to communicate with his brother. If he had found out about it at any other time, Dean's response would have been to burn the damned thing; Lucifer had killed his mother after all. However desperate times called for desperate measures. 

When he finally found it, in the far corner of the room, it was getting late and he didn't have much time left if he wanted to squeeze in one last visit to the Hospital Wing. He tried the door to the cabinet but it was locked, so he had to use the 'alohomora' charm to force it open. Finally, the ancient door swung forwards to reveal a small empty space inside. Now came the moment of truth. He pulled a small scroll of parchment out of his bag and placed it in the cupboard, then did the same with the list that Sam had given him. Then he closed the door and waited for a few agonizing moments.

After what seemed like forever, he reopened the door of the cabinet and saw that the space inside was once again mercifully empty. His letter had been received.   
Relieved, but still wary of being caught, Dean picked his way over several layers of magical objects to get to the nearest path to the exit. With every passing year since an ancient fire, when some of the things inside the room had been destroyed, the volume of stuff inside had grown and grown and the Room of Requirement in its storage warehouse state was now, by all accounts, bigger than it had ever been.

He was halfway to the exit when he saw a strange light coming from one of the piles of junk on his right. He ignored it at first, eager to get back to the main body of the school, but when the light began to shift, changing color slightly, curiosity got the better of him and he walked over to that particular pile. After some of the trash that had built up over the source of the light was cleared away, an ancient, ornate mirror was revealed, cracked in some places, but still magnificent. It appeared to be emitting rather than reflecting light and it intrigued Dean just enough that he decided to lift it out of the pile and place it firmly on the ground.

That action revealed yet another facet of the mirror: a long quotation at the top which was written in some sort of code. He stepped forwards to get a closer look at it, but he could only make out one word. Erised. However, he caught himself wishing that he had brought Sam along to share his encyclopedic knowledge of magical objects and in doing so, remembered that he was still angry at his brother and that the hospital wing would be off limits soon.

He left the mirror where it stood and took a few steps away, but something made him look back.

With a sharp jolt of shock, he saw that its reflection had changed. Instead of showing the dark room, with its layers of boxes, furniture and other objects, the glass showed the vista of a beautiful cottage in the country with a small group of people standing outside, as if posing for a family portrait. Dean blinked a few times but the picture didn't change, in fact, it became clearer as he walked towards it.

Once he was back in front of the mirror, he found himself looking into the eyes of his future self. The man in the mirror was clearly in his twenties, with a dusting of five o' clock shadow on his cheeks and an old leather jacket which looked a lot like one of John's. Next to him stood Sam, who appeared to have experienced a massive growth spurt and was holding the hand of a beautiful blonde woman. As he watched, the older version of himself mouthed something to Sam and they both burst out laughing as the blonde rolled her eyes, an exasperated look on her face. Dean felt a sudden longing to show his brother what he had found; no matter what he may or may not have done, he was still family.

Then the three figures in the mirror shuffled to the right to make room for someone else and Dean smiled widely as the older version of Cas walked into the mirror. He looked very professional in a beige overcoat and a suit, although his tie, as always, was on backwards.

It slowly dawned on him that if this was the future, then he had proof that Cas was going to be okay. The relief of it was so sudden and strong that he had to blink a few times to stop himself from tearing up. Back in the mirror, the older Dean slung an arm around Cas's shoulder and leaned in to whisper something in his ear. The moment felt strangely intimate, but then, they had known each other since childhood. What happened next though, defied any rationalization: Dean watched as his future self pulled Castiel even closer and kissed him on the cheek.

He froze, expecting Sam or his girlfriend to say something about it, but they just looked like they had seen it all before. This wasn't what he had expected his future to look like.

It was late, so he took one last look into the glass before turning away once and for all and leaving the Room of Requirement. His thoughts were all over the place, but luckily the infirmary wasn't too far away.

 

*****

"He's getting worse."

The nurse's low voice seemed to come from miles away. It was cold in the hospital wing and dark too. Hardly an atmosphere that would facilitate recovery. Dean looked down at Castiel's motionless body, still covered loosely with a blanket. He could have been sleeping and it was hard not to expect him to sit up in bed and run a hand through his hair, as if to flatten it, like he did every morning.

"What happened?" Dean asked as he took his friend's hand, more to steel himself than to comfort Cas.

The nurse smiled, but it was the kind of smile that always precedes bad news. "He has a fever and its building. He hasn't moved at all since you told me about his hand the other day, and honestly, I think you might have been mistaken about that. I know you really want to believe that he's conscious-"

"I didn't imagine anything." Dean replied hotly. "His hand moved, I felt it."

"Regardless, Castiel here is still unresponsive to any external stimulate, spells, charms, you name it. I've never seen anything comparable." The nurse's voice softened slightly. "Dean, you have to prepare yourself for the worst. We've called his parents and they're on their way here now."

"His father," he replied automatically, glancing down at Cas's hand. It was cold and limp and he had to remind himself of what he had seen in the mirror. Cas was going to get better, he knew it. "His mother died when he was born."

"You can stay during their visit if you like," she continued, "I've asked Michael and he says that's fine as long as you don't get in the way. Castiel is lucky to have a friend like you."

"Thanks." Dean responded quietly. He stayed where he was for a while after the nurse had left but Cas didn't move again and he left to get some much needed sleep later that night. When he looked back, standing in the doorway, Castiel was only half visible in the dull moonlight, as still as if he had been carved from stone.


	3. Chapter 3

Castiel awoke to a cacophony of sound the following day. He instinctively tried to open his eyes and failed, before focusing his energy on identifying his visitors.

There was somebody holding his hand, but it wasn't Dean. This hand was smaller and softer, it felt more feminine and the small golden ring on one finger was the final clue that this was his cousin Anna.

"We've just had a spike of brain activity, he's waking up," the nurse said and Cas realised that the room was so loud partly because of the whirring sound of several machines. He could feel something digging into the skin of his hand and he guessed that it was some kind of muggle device. Dean would know what it was.

"So he can hear us now?" his father asked. Charles's voice was deeper than usual and he sounded upset. That was new. "Hello Castiel. This is your father." He paused for a moment. "How do you know he can hear us? It looks to me like he's miles away."

"Dean saw him move yesterday," the nurse replied, unfazed by the frustration of the father of the current Headmaster of Hogwarts. "After that, we had some equipment brought in which shows us his brain activity."

"You must be Dean then." Charles took several steps around the bed. "It's good to finally meet you, young man. Thank you for keeping my son company through this ordeal. You know, I haven't seen Castiel in at least a year. Isn't that awful? With the business and everything, I just haven't had time, and now-" He trailed off, clearly struck by the possibility that he would never have the opportunity to make things up to his youngest child.

"He's going to get better." Anna said calmly. She sounded perfectly confident and Cas made up his mind to thank her if he ever recovered. "We just need to-"

"Cassie." That was Gabriel's voice, sounding far away like he was speaking from across the room. Everyone fell silent instantly. "I came as soon as I heard."

Cas felt suddenly lighter and would have smiled if he could have. Gabriel was always the one who stood up for him at home, who had cared for him when he was sick and who had never let him down. Sure, he had only written a few times since he'd left Hogwarts, but he was probably busy with his new role in the family business. Anyway, he was here now and Cas felt certain that Gabe wouldn't give up until he found an cure for the paralysis. That was just who his brother was: deeply loving and loyal to his family, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

The footsteps soon reached his hospital bed and Cas could hear the shock in his brother's voice as he said: "You didn't tell me he was this bad." He sounded distraught, more than that, guilty. As if his not being there had somehow caused the whole situation. "Why didn't you call me earlier?"

"I couldn't get hold of you, your number must have changed." Dean replied. He paused for a moment, then gasped sharply and exclaimed: "You son of a bitch!"

Charles's voice followed, just as loud and intimidating as Cas remembered it being from countless tellings-off as a child. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I knew I recognized that number from somewhere," Dean muttered, before addressing the group. "I found a number in Sam's phone that he'd called over twenty times in the past week and guessed that it was whoever was blackmailing him to hurt Cas.”

Castiel tensed, dread filling his mind. Dean continued: “I called the number, but it had been disconnected since and it wasn't until now..." He trailed off, then continued just as fiercely. "That was your phone number, wasn't it Gabriel? You called Sam all those times to plan this, I can prove it. One of those calls was minutes before Sam poured that vial into Cas's pumpkin juice. You disconnected your phone so that no-one would suspect you afterwards."

"You've got this all wrong." Gabriel protested weakly. Cas waited for him to offer some proof that he was innocent or at least for him to deny everything, but he just stayed silent.

Everyone was talking over each other now, loudly and angrily. Some appeared to be on Gabriel's side, but Cas could tell that they were a minority and most of the others, including Dean, called for him to be questioned by the aurors who were on their way to Hogwarts to get to the bottom of the poisoning.

Soon the arguments became hard to follow and Castiel's head ached with the effort of identifying the voices at his bedside. The morning, he thought wryly, had turned into one of the hospital scenes in the muggle soaps that he had watched with Dean over the summer vacation. Surely Gabriel couldn't have done something like this to him, he had always been his number one protector, the only person in his large family who he could always rely on. Memories of their childhood together came bubbling up to the surface of his mind, but everything seemed sour now.

"His blood pressure is rising," the nurse said, only just audible over the din. "I'm going to need you all to leave, now." Her voice rose towards the end of the sentence but Cas could barely concentrate on what happened next. He fell into another deep sleep while several pairs of footsteps stormed out of the hospital wing. 

 

*****

 

Dean walked blindly, too lost in thought to be properly conscious of his surroundings. His history with Gabriel went back a long way; they had known each other almost as long a time as he had known Cas. Gabriel could be infuriating, but he had never caused any harm to anyone, it was almost incomprehensible to imagine him trying to hurt the brother he was closest to. How would Cas react when he woke up and found out what had happened? Just thinking about it made him feel sick.

Soon he found himself outside the Room of Requirement. Strictly speaking, he was expected to go to lessons that day, but having to sit in Herbology and pretend to be interested in plants was impossible, especially since he still had so many questions about what had motivated Sam and Gabriel to do something so contrary to their natures.

He soon reopened the room and made his way inside to the old vanishing cabinet that had a direct link to Azkaban, or so he hoped. There was always the possibility that what was inside would be fatal, but Dean didn't think so somehow. If Lucifer had been communicating with his brother for months through the cabinet, he'd had numerous chances of to slip something dangerous into the school and that hadn't happened yet.

Finally the cabinet loomed up in front of him, looking just as intimidating as it had when he had first opened it days ago. Resting his hand on the wooden door for a moment, he grasped the handle and pulled. At first glance the space inside looked empty. However, upon deeper inspection, a single sheet of parchment laid on the dusty wood at its base.

'Dean Winchester,

I was shocked to receive a letter that wasn't from Michael and my first impulse was to burn it, but luckily for you, the contents intrigued me too much to ignore. You say that my brother is suffering from paralysis, brought on by a potion. I can assure you that I had nothing to do with this. I would never willingly hurt any of my brothers and sisters, especially little Castiel.

For his sake, I'm going to share some information with you. Of the list of ingredients you enclosed, a high percentage of them are usually found in love potions and generally harmless. Perhaps whatever Castiel ingested wasn't meant to hurt him, but to produce a quite different effect? I seem to remember that my brother is allergic to certain things and he may have had a reaction to something in the potion.

I hope that you will consider keeping the existence of this vanishing cabinet a secret after what I have just told you. If you were to let something slip, well, the Milton family may not be forgiving.'

The letter was unsigned. Dean read it through a couple of times before shoving it into his pocket, his mind racing once again. If what had happened was just the result of an allergic reaction, Sam and Gabriel would be innocent. It was almost too good to be true. However, there were still flaws in this theory. Why wouldn't they have admitted this to the professors who were investigating Castiel's illness and what exactly had they been trying to accomplish by drugging Cas with any kind of potion?

He walked past the mirror on his way out of the room, pausing for just a moment to see himself standing confidently with his arm around Cas. It was hard to believe that the future could look like that for either of them, but after the initial shock had dissipated, he was shocked at how much he wanted it to be true. What he would give to see those deep blue eyes opening again or to straighten his friend's tie as he had done so many times before…

It was only then that he realized with a jolt that it was nearly time for lunch. If he could waylay Sam in time, he could find out if Lucifer's theory was the truth. He started to run and didn't stop until he reached the Ravenclaw tower.

 

*****

 

Sam was staring out of the window in his room when there was a knock at the door. He jumped, although he couldn't say he was shocked. It was only a matter of time before his father turned up to take him away from school, so maybe it was best that it happened now rather than later, at least then he wouldn't have to suffer any more pitying or suspicious looks from the other students.

He got up from his bed and walked over to the door, but his visitor wasn't his father. Dean stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking like he hadn't slept for a week. That made two of them. He was holding some kind of scroll in his hands and held it out to Sam, gesturing for him to read it.

"You've been communicating with..." Sam began, but stopped when he realized that they had an audience watching from outside the room. He pulled Dean inside and shut the door before continuing. "You could be expelled for this."

"I doubt it," he replied. "Michael wouldn't want anyone to know about that cabinet and he wouldn't jeopardize his precious job for anything." He stopped and narrowed his eyes at his brother, the gesture reminded Sam of what Cas always did when he was trying to work something out. "So, is it true?"

"Dean..." Sam stared down at the letter, then looked back into Dean's eyes. "Yes, it's true, okay? The potion was supposed to be harmless, I don't know what went wrong when we gave it to him. I wanted to tell you, but when I called Gabriel, he was adamant that Cas would recover in a few hours, he told me we had to keep it quiet or his family would kill him and I'd be kicked out of school forever, I didn't want any of this to happen." He took a deep breath, but before he could say anything else, Dean pulled him into a hug.

It didn't last long and Sam knew that he still wasn't forgiven, but he still felt better for telling someone. He sat back down on his bed as Dean returned the letter to his bag and made to leave.

Where are you going?" he asked, wiping his eyes surreptitiously with his sleeve.

His brother surprised him by turning back to answer. "To the library. Now we know that this was probably an allergic reaction, we can narrow down the list of ingredients and find whatever it was that caused it. Then Professor Crowley can make the antidote. All I have to do is round up enough people to help me with researching each ingredient, so we can find out what we're dealing with before the end of the day."

Dean left the room and Sam followed him down the corridor. "I'm coming with you," he said firmly when he reached the common room. "I'm good at this stuff, Dean. I can help with the research. I need to do something to put this right and make sure that Cas will be okay."

"Me too." Another voice sounded from across the room and they both turned to see who had been listening to their conversation. "What?" Charlie asked defensively from her seat by the window, where she was playing wizard chess with herself, using her wand to rotate the board every time she had to make a move. "If you don't want to be overheard, you shouldn't be talking in such a crowded room. I'm coming with you to the library to help Cas and I'll bring some friends too."

Dean looked like he was about to argue for a second, then shrugged and held the door open. "Deal," he said. "I need all the help I can get. But Sam, this isn't me forgiving you. It's a temporary truce."

"I know." Sam replied, trying to mask the hurt that he felt inside. He didn't deserve to be forgiven, but it would have been nice all the same.

They made their way down together, both glad of Charlie’s presence. However, when they reached the ground floor and she left to find her friends, Sam found himself alone with his brother again.

“So,” Dean said, sounding like he was desperately trying to find something to say. It had never been like that between them before. Their silences had never needed to be filled. “I saw this mirror earlier. It was buried under all this other stuff in the Room of Requirement, something made me dig it out. It looked weird, I mean, weirder than any of the other stuff in there.”

“There’s a ton of lore on mirrors in the wizarding world,” Sam replied, trying not to sound too eager. “Some of the legends say that the mirror of Erised itself is kept somewhere in the castle.”

“Yeah, that was the name. Erised,” Dean responded. “It tells the future, right?”

“Actually, no.” Sam said. His brother’s face fell and he mentally kicked himself for causing Dean even more pain, but it was too late to take it back now. “The mirror shows you want you want most in the world. Why? What did you see there?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Dean turned away and started walking in the direction of the library. Sam followed. Although he hadn’t received an answer, he wasn’t sure that he needed one. There was only one person on Dean’s mind at the moment and it wasn’t him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to jillian and programmergeek for your comments and to everyone who left kudos :) Hope you enjoy the rest!


	4. Chapter 4

At first, the research group consisted of a few students seated around a table in the middle of the library, in the area where quiet discussion and snacks were allowed. Dean laid out the list of ingredients in the center of the table and Sam made his way to the Herbology section, where some of the herbs and their properties would be listed. Meanwhile Charlie and some other Ravenclaws divided their tasks and quickly got to work.

It wasn't long before Benny, Jo, Ash and Hannah appeared too, all eager to help Cas in any way they could. Then other members of the Milton family turned up: Balthazar, Uriel, Inias, Anna and even Raphael, who looked extremely grumpy but contributed to the task nonetheless.

Soon, word had spread around the entire school and pupils from every house were turning up to pitch in. Dean took care of the organisation and assigned whole groups to each ingredient and it wasn't long before students were returning to him with full rolls of parchment with all the information he would need inside. The day slowly became evening and as the bright lights overhead were replaced with candles, the piles of research grew on the central desk. After a few hours had passed, Sam cautiously approached his brother.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" he asked in a low voice. Some of their volunteers had called it a day and returned to their dorms but others were still poring over books and quietly discussing their finds. "I can keep things going here until curfew and I promise to wake you up if we make a breakthrough."

"Okay." Dean replied, his eyes betraying how tired he felt. "You'd better wake me up when you're done though. As soon as we find the ingredients that reacted to make him paralyzed, we'll need to take the information to Crowley." Sam doubted that their least favourite professor would appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night to listen to advice about creating an antidote, but he wisely held his tongue. Dean still wasn't in the best of moods and he didn't want to be the one to tip him over the edge.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur and it was almost time for the library to close when they finally found something concrete. Pamela and Jess brought over a large book and deposited it on the desk with a loud thump, startling Ash who had fallen asleep with his head resting on a thick collection of papers.

"This could be it," Jess said and pointed at a paragraph written in cursive font. Sam had to squint to read it in the dull candlelight. "Appleseed is a pretty nonreactive substance, which might be why Crowley missed it in his investigations. But when you mix it with any acidic liquid, it can cause numbness of limbs and in extreme cases, paralysis of the limbs. I haven't got any evidence that it's ever caused paralysis throughout the body though."

"That must be it!" replied Sam excitedly. "You're a genius!"

Jess blushed and sat down on the seat next to him at the table. "Now all we need to do is work out what acid it reacted with." It wasn't long before they found several possibilities in the scrolls of parchment in front of them and Sam diligently copied down the names of every one before setting off to the Hufflepuff dormitory to tell Dean what they'd found.

However, when he got to the dormitory, none of the students had seen Dean go into his bedroom and Sam was momentarily stumped, until he remembered that there was only one place he would want to be. Sneaking into the hospital wing after hours wasn't easy, but sure enough, his brother was slumped in one of the chairs at Castiel's bedside. Their hands were still interlaced.

He warily touched Dean's shoulder, watching him flinch and immediately straighten up in the chair. Dean immediately let go of Cas's hand, but Sam noted the gentle way that he replaced it on the hospital bed. He felt a fresh wave of guilt for the worry that he'd caused the person he loved most in the world, but one glance at his brother's face reminded him that the best thing he could do now was share his news.

"We found something," he began and explained the specifics as quickly as he could. He had barely finished when Dean asked for the scrolls of research and raced out of the room. Sam stayed there for a moment longer. It was strangely calming, sitting there in the darkness and after a moment of indecision he took Cas's hand himself.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, before he left the room for his bed in the Ravenclaw tower. With any luck, Crowley would be able to produce an antidote by the time they next met and he wouldn't have to spend another second looking down at his old friend without knowing if they would ever speak again.

*****

Cas awoke the next day and his mind went through a few seconds of panic before he remembered the reason why he couldn't open his eyes and get out of bed. He had an itch on his foot, but he knew that there was no way he could reach it or even tell anyone about it, so he wearily settled down in preparation for another long day trapped in his own mind. He'd already lost count of how long he'd been there, which wasn't a good sign.

A sound startled him and he strained his ears to discern who was approaching his bed. There were at least three pairs of footsteps.

"I hope you boys know what you’re doing.” A deep voice said, sounding very irate. Why was Professor Crowley in the hospital wing so late at night? Cas felt a small surge of excitement; there was only one explanation that made sense. They had finally found an antidote.

Crowley’s heavy footsteps made their way to the medical equipment beside his bed and he heard the sounds of a lid being unscrewed and liquid being poured.

“I hope so too,” Dean muttered from what had become his usual spot at Cas’s bedside. Although his third visitor was silent, he could tell that it was Sam by the way the younger boy sighed and rested his hands on the bed.

The activity around the equipment soon ceased and an expectant hush fell over the room. Cas focused his mind on trying to move each part of his body in turn, one at a time, but when that didn’t work, he expended all his energy on trying to sit up: maybe the cure wasn’t working because he wasn’t trying hard enough.

Minutes passed and the silence turned oppressive. There had been no change, the experiment had been a failure, but no one wanted to admit it. Crowley was the first to leave, slamming the door on his way out with a crash that echoed through the empty room like the sound of glass cracking.

The Winchesters stayed and although Cas was grateful for that, he felt utterly alone. Dean, Sam, his family, they could all visit as much as they wanted, but he would never be able to communicate with them again.

In that instant, all of the words that he had never been able to say came to mind. He wanted to tell his father that he had never stopped loving him despite the neglect, to thank Michael and the rest of his family for their support, however sporadic it had been over the years. Sam and Gabriel, he would forgive because he knew that accidents happened and they hadn’t meant to hurt him.

The one thing he couldn’t bear though was his inability to tell Dean what their time together had meant to him. He wanted to say the words “I love you”, to hear them out in the open and to know that whatever happened, Dean would be aware of how he’d felt since they had met. 

“I’m going to head back now.” Sam said, his voice low. His brother didn’t reply. He left the room quietly and the closing of the door was a soft tapping sound. He left them in silence, awful, unbearable silence, which was only broken when Dean began to cry.

He had done this a few times in the period in which they’d known each other, always quietly, guiltily like he expected to be ridiculed. “I’m sorry,” Dean said softly, leaning closer to the bed so his breath ghosted Castiel’s cheek. “I’m sorry it didn’t work and I’m not going to stop trying to bring you back.” That last phrase sounded hollow and Cas knew that neither of them believed that it was possible.

Even though he seemed to have finished speaking, Dean didn’t move. Slowly, he pressed his lips to Cas’s forehead and kissed him there, once, softly, as if he was saying goodbye. 

A calm, warm feeling flooded through Cas’s body and he felt completely at peace for the first time since the incident that lead to his paralysis. He could hear Dean dragging the chair he was sitting on closer to the bed, but all he could think about was the small, fleeting kiss.

The itch on his foot returned and he moved his hand to scratch it, but instead of encountering the same invisible blockade, the movement worked. With a great effort, he dragged his hand upwards and when he had established that it wasn’t just a vivid dream, he took a moment to compose himself then opened his eyes for the first time in over a week.

He was met by the sight of wide green eyes inches away from his face and with barely a thought, he tugged Dean towards him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him passionately.

When he finally let go, Dean enveloped him in a tight hug and they stayed motionless on the bed until the door opened again and the nurse walked in. Cas watched her freeze at the sight of him sitting up in the bed; it was surreal seeing her face after listening to her voice for so long.

“How on Earth-“ she began, walking over to the bed and taking a reading from one of the screens to his right. “According to this, you’re in perfect health! How did you do it?” The question was addressed to Dean, who grinned, pivoting on the bed until he was facing her. He told her the short version of the story, about the antidote and how it had just taken a while to work. As he spoke, Cas looked down at their still-joined hands and smiled incredulously to himself.

He had imagined telling Dean how he felt so many times, always wondering what he would say and how he would confess his feelings. The idea that Dean would be the one to make the first move was something he had never dreamed of, mostly because his friend had to be forced into what he called ‘chick flick’ moments.

Then again, he had never dreamed that he would be completely paralyzed during their first kiss either, it was like something from a fairy tale. A thought struck him then: at first he thought it too ludicrous to be true, but when he thought about it for a while, it actually made perfect sense. He was going to have to have a long talk with Gabriel later.

“How are you feeling?” Dean asked anxiously, making him jump. He looked worried but Cas couldn’t stop smiling, it was so nice to be able to see his face again.

“I’m fine,” he replied and it was true. He was.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, folks, the final chapter! Thank you to every single one of you and especially those who left feedback and kudos, I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've loved writing it :D

The nurse insisted on keeping Castiel in the hospital wing until he recovered his strength, but she did allow him to have visitors: Sam returned, looking shell-shocked and repeating the words “I’m sorry” over and over again until Cas finally got through to him that it didn’t matter anymore and all was forgiven. Gabriel just put his arms around him and when he eventually let go, his eyes were wet with tears (he insisted that this was caused by an allergy to hospitals).

Chuck, Michael, Anna and the other Miltons showed up too. Some seemed more pleased than others to see that Cas was alive, but as Dean pointed out, they’d all taken the time to pay him a visit, which was more than some of them had done in years.

Michael pulled Sam aside to have what he called a ‘serious talk’ and once they reappeared a few minutes later, it was clear that things had been sorted out to everyone’s advantage. “He gave me a month’s worth of detention,” Sam murmured to his brother when Cas was busy talking to Chuck. “I thought I was going to be expelled, but he said you’d told him that I was instrumental in finding a cure.”

“What, did you think I was going to sit back and watch you get kicked out of school?” Dean asked, punching him gently on the shoulder. “Of course, if Cas hadn’t woken up, I may have had to go all Oh Dae-Su on your ass.”

“Please don’t mention that awful movie,” replied Sam with a grimace. “Dad never should have let us watch it, I had nightmares for weeks. But I don’t think Gabe will get off so easily. Michael let it slip that he might be fired because of what we did.”

“Relax,” Dean said. “They’ve probably been looking for an excuse to let Gabriel go for weeks. He’s not exactly a ‘family business’ kind of guy.”

They both looked over at Gabriel, who had joined the conversation with his younger brother and it was true, he didn’t look upset at the loss of his position. From the way he was grinning at Castiel, it was obvious that he was just glad his brother was okay.

Before too long, the room began to clear as everyone returned to their dormitories or made their way back down to the castle gates, where their vehicles were waiting. It was decided that Cas would spend one last night in his hospital bed. When the lights were finally dimmed and the room was silent, apart from the whirring of medical equipment by the bed, Dean closed the door after the nurse and walked over to a spare bed, where he flattened the pillows and sat down.

“Thank you for staying,” Cas murmured, already half-asleep. It had been a long few hours and his body ached all over. “I knew you’d find a way to bring me back.”

“Liar,” grinned Dean from the bed next to his. “Even I was second guessing myself for a while there, that antidote took so long to work. But I’m glad it did.” 

“Me too,” said Cas. He found himself dropping back off to sleep, soothed by the sound of Dean’s breathing.

*****

The next morning was bright, and opening his eyes felt unnatural somehow after the length of time he had been unable to see the morning sun through the net curtains at the window. Dean was still sleeping and he couldn’t help smiling at the look of peace on his friend’s face, until his eyes fluttered open and Cas was forced to look away.

“Good morning.” Dean sat up and when he was certain that the nurse had left the room, he joined Cas on his bed. “Looking forward to today?”

“Yes, it will be nice to see everyone, although I’m not looking forward to the extra work,” Cas responded. He paused at the mischievous expression on Dean’s face. “Okay, what am I missing?”

Dean just smiled and put an arm around his shoulder. This time, Cas was able to relax and just enjoy it, closing his eyes instinctively and letting his tongue slip inside Dean’s mouth. The kiss was soft and warm, and a little wet. Everything he’d ever wanted and more.

“We should go,” he said reluctantly when they finally broke apart. “I don’t want to be late for my first class in a week.”

“It’s the last day of term.” Dean replied, clearly enjoying the shock that this statement provoked. “All we’ve got today is the end-of-term feast and the Hogwarts Express leaves tomorrow morning.”

It was at least twenty minutes later when they left the hospital wing and the rest of the day passed in a flurry of collecting work, saying goodbye to classmates and enjoying the summer weather outside by the lake. The feast was due to take place that afternoon, but first, Cas had something he needed to do.

He made his way down to the school gates just in time to waylay Gabriel, who was about to leave by carriage. As soon as his brother saw him, he stuck his head out of the window and waved in his usual friendly way.

“Do you have a moment?” Cas asked hesitantly. The door of the carriage swung open and Gabe helped him inside. “I wanted to ask about the potion you gave me.”

“Please, Cassie,” Gabriel replied, using an old nickname. He looked upset as he continued: “The antidote worked and you’re back to normal, can’t we just put this whole mess behind us?”

“I don’t think it was the antidote Dean and the others made that saved me,” said Cas. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Gabriel until his brother looked away. “I only moved after Dean kissed me, I think that was the cure. Now I’m going to ask you this one more time, what were you trying to accomplish by giving me that potion?”

“Okay, okay,” said Gabriel. “I found it in a book, it was referred to as ‘medicamentum pulchritudinem dormientes.”

“Sleeping beauty potion?” Cas translated, smiling in spite of his irritation. “Didn’t you expect me to fall into a deep sleep as soon as you read the name?”

“Do you think I speak Latin? Anyway, it was recommended for two people who wouldn’t confess their feelings for one another. I thought it would make you tell Dean how you felt upfront. I couldn’t bear seeing you so unhappy.” Gabriel continued. “It was wrong of me to interfere and I’m sorry.”

“I know,” he replied, with a real smile this time. “And for what it’s worth, your plan worked. Dean and I are together now and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so happy.”

“Finally!” exclaimed Gabriel, raising his hands to heaven. Cas sighed and glanced down at his watch, he bit his lip when he saw how late it was getting. Luckily his brother understood and after an awkward goodbye, Cas was standing on the road, watching Gabriel wave out of the carriage window as he drove away.  
Dean appeared by his side, making him jump. “I thought that was my thing,” he muttered, pretending to be cross.

His boyfriend grinned. “What did your brother have to say then? I hope he’s not planning any more poisonings.”

“He’s learned his lesson.” Cas replied, placing a firm hand on Dean’s back and guiding him back towards the castle with the words: “Come on, we’re late for the feast.” They joined a large crowd of students of all ages pouring into the Great Hall, which was decorated with the usual blank banners, soon to be swathed in the colors of whoever won the house cup.

Dean immediately found a seat in front of what looked like the largest blackberry pie ever made and Cas slid into the seat next to him. It might have been his long absence from the dining table, but the food looked better than ever and he found his eyes drawn to a huge pile of PB & J sandwiches.

When Meg offered him a glass of pumpkin juice though, he declined. There was no way he was going to miss any of the summer vacation now that he finally had what he’d wanted for years with Dean. Meanwhile, at the Professors’ table, Michael stood up and made his way to the lectern at the front of the hall. A tense silence fell as the students waited to hear the results of the house cup.

“It has been a tight race this year,” Michael intoned and Cas suppressed a sigh: his eldest brother had a talent for long a boring speeches which he exhibited at every opportunity. “Gryffindor have been in the lead for much of the year, with Slytherin close behind, Hufflepuff in third place and Ravenclaw coming in fourth. However, before I announce the final results, there are some additions to make.”

“Can we skip to the part where Gryffindor wins already?” Dean muttered, pretending to fall asleep at the table as Michael continued to award points to the winning team of the Wizard Chess house cup and other, even less interesting school events. Cas only looked back at the lectern when he heard his own name. 

“Finally, many of you will know that a fifth year student, Castiel Milton, was recently incapacitated by a potion. Professor Crowley was instrumental in producing an antidote-“ Here Crowley stood up, bowing, until Michael glared at him and continued, “but several students also gave up their time to aid his recovery. For their actions over the last few days, Ruby, Benny and Meg each earn twenty house points for Slytherin and Jo, Balthazar, Ash and Hannah earn twenty house points each for Gryffindor.”

The Hall erupted with loud cheering, but Michael held up his hands for silence. “For Ravenclaw, Inias, Charlie and Anna earn twenty points each and for her formidable skill at research, Jess earns fifty points.” Michael read off a longer list of Hufflepuff names, but Cas was distracted by the sight of Sam and Jess embracing at the Ravenclaw table. His attention was only recaptured when his brother took one last, momentous pause. 

“And finally, for his demonstration of loyalty, friendship and tenacity,” he paused again, “Dean Winchester has earned one hundred points for Hufflepuff!” Dean looked around in shock as the Hufflepuff table exploded with loud applause. “So, in fourth place, we have Slytherin, Ravenclaw come in third and second place goes to Gryffindor, Hufflepuff wins the house cup!”

Yellow confetti fluttered down from the ceiling and the symbol of the badger appeared on every banner while in the Great Hall, the Hufflepuffs celebrated in earnest.

“We won, we actually won!” Dean yelled above the deafening clamour. “I don’t believe it!” Cas couldn’t believe it either: Hufflepuff hadn’t won the house cup in the five years that he’d been at Hogwarts, and judging by the reaction of the sixth and seventh year students, they hadn’t seen a victory either. Dean pulled Cas into a bear hug while at the Ravenclaw table, Sam and Jess were on their feet, clapping tirelessly to show their support.

“Have a great summer!” Michael said, smiling for once. The other professors looked pleased too, except for Crowley, who appeared to be pouring out a large glass of fire whiskey to compensate for Slytherin’s loss. Cas gazed around the hall in awe, marveling at his luck to have woken up for this. He finally stopped when he caught Dean’s green eyes, staring into them in a way that felt even more intimate than before.

“I love you,” he said, when he was close enough so that no-one but Dean would hear. He watched as Dean’s smile became even wider and in that moment he knew that he would never say those words to anyone else.

As the crowd of students jostled around them, Dean murmured them back into his ear and kissed him gently on his neck. Although the last two years of his education at Hogwarts turned out to be rather eventful, this was the scene that Cas always remembered: the roar of the crowd, the yellow confetti and above all, Dean Winchester’s smile.


End file.
